Team Leader - USAID North-East Connection (NEC) Final Evaluation at Navitas

Details

• We supports a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Support Activity program that assists USAID/Nigeria in advancing its broader organizational learning and development efforts.
• This program strengthens the Mission’s capacity and performance in programmatic monitoring, evaluation, learning, collaborating, and adapting.
• The MEL Support Activity closely aligns with USAID/Nigeria’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and provides a broad range of specialized technical assistance, training, data gathering and analysis, field-based monitoring, evaluations and assessments, facilitation of organizational learning and adaptation initiatives, and short-term technical assistance.

Project Objective

• USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct an external final evaluation of the North-East Connection Activity.
• This Activity is theorized that developing local conflict mitigation capacity and increasing social cohesion in areas not yet under terrorist control would serve as a barrier against VE infiltration. The activity was implemented in 90 communities across 15 LGAs as shown below:
  • Adamawa sate – Guyuk, Demsa, Numan, Lamurde, Mubi South, and Mubi North
  • Borno state – Kwaya Kusar, Hawul, Shani, Maiduguri, and Biu
  • Yobe state – Potiskum, Damaturu, and Gujba
• The primary purpose of this final evaluation is to assess the effects of NEC activity on the levels of violence in targeted LGAs and impact of the use of nonviolent conflict resolution methods to address violent extremism. The evaluation is also expected to provide feedback on its design and how learnings can be used to improve future projects.  
• The evaluation will achieve this purpose by assessing the activity's design, the approaches to achieving the activity objectives, its impact on violence in the LGAs, public perception on the use of non-violence skills to address conflict and its contribution to building community members' resilience to violent extremist groups.
• The estimated start date will be June 05, 2023. The evaluation is expected to last until November 2023, and the estimated LOE will be 48 days, maximum.

Position Description

• We are seeking an International Team Leader who will be responsible for the overall management of the evaluation team’s effort and ensuring a rigorous and high-quality evaluation. Under the technical leadership of the MEL Support Activity, The Team Leader will be working alongside three Nigerian team members.
• The Team Leader will consult with and facilitate input from all team members throughout the duration of the evaluation.

Responsibilities
The Team Leader will:

• Oversee and lead on major evaluation activities, including the evaluation design, methodology development of instruments, data collection, synthesis of data, presentations, and preparation of final report with team contributions.
• Provide leadership for the team and coordinate activities as necessary.
• Coordinate with USAID/Nigeria.
• Oversee the work plan and ensure all team members are contributing expertise and technical inputs.
• Perform desk review and identify additional information required for analysis.
• Schedule and interview key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• Coordinate team's ongoing analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Lead the preparation and presentation of the In-brief and Out-brief to USAID/Nigeria and other stakeholders as requested.
• Write the draft Evaluation report with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from the Out-brief presentation.
• Respond to USAID comments on the draft report, incorporate USAID/Nigeria staff comments into the final version of the report and finalize the report.
• Present evaluation results to diverse audiences according to USAID standard reporting
• Work collaboratively with team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise.

Qualifications
The candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of ten years of experience in evaluation design, methods, management, and implementation.
• Previous experience serving as Team Leader on peacebuilding, conflict resolution and conflict assessment-sector evaluations, assessments, and research studies. USAID evaluation experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Gender and age group analysis skills preferred.
• Technical expertise in conflict analysis and conflict assessment.
• Experience leading a team of evaluators.
• Background in USAID’s cross-cutting program priorities, such as gender equality and women’s empowerment, youth, etc.
• Previous experience working in Africa.
• Experience facilitating and providing leadership in collaborative and participatory evaluations with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills.